Dibsido: Burnout seems to be a recurring theme in office management. Why is it so common and how can companies prevent it?

Blanka: Burnout often happens when one person is doing three or four jobs at once: office management, HR support, executive assistance, travel coordination, operations, everything.

Companies don’t always take it seriously because the person still delivers. Office managers are problem-solvers and they’ll make it work, until one day they can’t. And then they resign, and everyone is shocked.

“Prevention comes down to two things: the office manager needs boundaries, and the company needs to listen. When an office manager says they’re having too much on their plate, it’s usually not a first warning, but the final one.”

Dibsido: What truly keeps office managers motivated? What benefits actually matter?

Blanka: Three big ones: fair compensation, having backup, and being listened to. Having backup is hugely underestimated. If one person runs the entire office and takes a vacation, it shouldn’t mean ten phone calls a day. People need to be able to disconnect.

And professional development matters, too. There’s a myth that office management has “no career growth.” That’s not true.

“Even if you stay in one role, you can grow within it by learning different tools, systems, or getting through various types of trainings. If other teams get learning budgets, office management shouldn’t be the exception.”

Dibsido: How fairly are office managers compensated today?

Blanka: It’s complicated, because the range is huge. One of the main reasons for this is that “office management” can mean almost anything. You can have an office manager earning 80,000 CZK per month, and you can see job ads for an office manager at 35,000 CZK per month. But that’s often a front-desk role in disguise, just renamed to sound better. So getting clean market data is hard, because the title isn’t consistent.

Dibsido: So how do you fix a market where the same title can mean two completely different jobs?

Blanka: You fix it by being specific and being transparent. Start with the job scope: what you actually expect the person to do, and where they sit in the company. And then be upfront about compensation. In many countries it’s required by law to include pay in job ads, and it makes sense. Why waste time on interviews only to learn the offer doesn’t match expectations? Both sides lose time.

In our community we sometimes give employers feedback if a job ad comes in with an unrealistic salary, privately, politely, and with specifics: either raise the compensation or reduce the responsibilities. The feedback is often received surprisingly well. In one case, I know the company redefined the role and actually changed the posting. So it can work, especially when employers are open to learning and genuinely want to hire the right person.

Dibsido: Speaking of your office management community Krotitelé kanclů (Office Busters) – what inspired you to create it?

Blanka: Office management can be a lonely job. HR representatives have the HR team, an accountant has the finance team, but office managers are often the only people doing what they do. You can have a receptionist reporting to you, but you rarely have a peer who truly understands the day-to-day reality.

That’s how I felt - lonely. And that’s the reason why the idea started growing in my head.  Having a place to talk, vent, compare notes, and support each other is huge. And it is also something that people value most in our meetups.

Dibsido: If you had to name the #1 thing office managers are frustrated by right now, what would it be?

Blanka: I would say overload and unclear ownership. When responsibilities aren’t clearly defined, office managers end up absorbing everything that falls between teams. The moment a task appears that seemingly belongs to no one, it often lands on the office manager’s desk. And that’s not sustainable long term.

Then there are the everyday battles that sound small, but add up fast. Coffee is the classic example: everyone has an opinion and you’ll never make all of your colleagues happy (laughs). And cleaning vendors are another big one. Your cleaning company is one of your most important partners, so when that relationship isn’t working, you feel it immediately.

Dibsido: And on the other side: what actually gives them energy?

Blanka: When their work is visible and clearly matters. Office management is often treated as something that “just happens,” like the office runs on autopilot. So when someone notices and says, “Thank you, today’s breakfast was great,” it really makes your day. These are small but powerful moments because they acknowledge the invisible effort behind the scenes.